


Thicker Than Water

by Poorlittleklainer



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Mafia AU, MafiaBoss!Kurt, teacher!Blaine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22142035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poorlittleklainer/pseuds/Poorlittleklainer
Summary: The Hummels aren't who we thought they were. Kurt Hummel leads the New York branch of the Hummel empire, the secret mafia that Burt has control of. Enter Blaine, a struggling first year teacher who meets Kurt randomly on the streets of New York. But the lifestyle of the mafia is no place for outsiders, will Blaine be able to adapt fast enough?
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	1. One--Kurt

Kurt didn’t know how much longer of this he could take. The man in front of him just kept going on and on, excuse after excuse and Kurt was long past sick of this. But he kept his expression cool and collected, not revealing anything just like his father taught him to do. 

Kurt Hummel had always dreamt of New York ever since he was a little boy. His dreams filled with Broadway and adoring fans and Tony Awards lining his walls. What he didn’t know, was that his father, Burt Hummel, dreamt of New York too. In a very different kind of way. 

Growing up, Kurt was used to the constant flow of people coming into his father’s shop, used to the strange men in expensive suits who would disappear into the back room. The backroom that Kurt was always forbidden from entering under the most extreme punishment he’d ever been given. When he turned ten, his father started having him come into the backroom on several select meetings. That’s what they were, they were meetings. But what confused ten year old Kurt was the meetings weren’t about the shop or cars or anything he would have thought his dad would be talking about. His first time he sat in on the meeting with his father, sitting in an extra chair just to the right behind his dad’s desk, was about the bank robbery from last week. Of course, Kurt didn’t know much about it, but he did hear on the news that seemed to be constantly playing at home that there was something that happened, and here was his dad talking to an older man in a really nice suit discussing things like payment and jobs and plan b’s. 

The meetings continued like that, his dad made him swear never to tell anybody what was going on, to keep it a secret and just to listen. He said that was the most important skill anybody could have, the ability to listen. To listen to the things people say, but mostly to listen to what they don’t. To listen to the things people would rather keep quiet, the power of secrets was huge, his father would say. 

He was twelve when the secret his father kept from him was revealed. They were walking in Columbus for something, Kurt doesn’t really remember that much anymore. But he does distinctly remember his father pulling him by his jacket into an abandoned alleyway. He remembers being pissed at his dad for wrinkling his favorite knockoff Marc Jacobs but then remembers being terrified when his dad pulled out the gun and pointed it at the man who had apparently been following him. Kurt was twelve years old when he watched his father pull the trigger and kill a man for the first time. It was then that his father explained everything. How the Hummels came from an old family in Germany who immigrated to the United States in the 1920s. That they were treated like outcasts and had to do whatever they had to in order to survive on the streets. How they started getting into backroom dealings, started getting involved with the criminals that taught them how to survive. And how they started expanding their reach in the criminal world until their name was feared and known in the underground throughout most of the Midwest. The Hummels were not a family to be crossed, and the dealings of the Hummels is passed down from generation to generation. 

At first, Kurt was shocked. He couldn’t imagine his family being involved in anything like the kind of stuff his dad was saying. How they had businesses that were involved in money laundering, robbery, even gun smuggling. His dad was supposed to be just a mechanic, his family wasn’t super rich or involved in murder, how much longer would his dad try to pull this joke over on Kurt? But a glance at the man still bleeding blood from the bullet wound in his chest confirmed everything. He didn’t tell anybody what his family did, not his friends, and certainly not the police. While Kurt didn’t really believe in what his father was doing, he was still his dad, and the one thing above all else that his father taught him, was that family sticks together no matter what. 

Kurt doesn’t really know how it was that he started getting involved with his father’s business. He knows one day he was just sitting in on another meeting in the backroom of his father’s shop, and all of a sudden he had an idea and somehow it worked. Kurt doesn’t even remember anymore what that idea was, what that first meeting was about, but over time, Kurt became more and more involved with the decision making of his dad’s meetings and he was allowed in the backroom at any time. 

And then came time for Kurt to move to college. Kurt had dreams of New York, but his dad had dreams of it too. He already had a small business set up in the east coast, and now that Kurt was more involved and determined to move to the City, Burt decided to hand over the small investment firm to Kurt to run while he was in school. The firm was a front for what they actually did, which was handle all the money for the Hummel empire. It was the main hub for all of their illegal dealings, where they got the necessary cash to pay for whatever was needed. They loaned out money for smaller upstart criminal businesses, and then took back whatever was owed with outrageous interest but it was what had been promised. Kurt’s dreams of New York originally were filled with Broadway and showtunes, but now his dreams had shifted into making his dad proud and carrying on his family legacy. He quickly changed his school to Columbia, majoring in business investment and managing, and was able to apply everything he was learning to the business his father trusted him to run while he was in New York. Slowly, Kurt managed to expand the Hummel reach into the east coast, where they were still competing with the bigger names that had been there for longer, but they were also allies because the Hummel’s investment firm was taking on some of their family’s cases too. 

Which brings Kurt back to the present. Sitting in his office as he waits for the guy in front of him to finish making excuses so Kurt could tell him that his collateral is getting taken from him, and if he has any issue with living on the streets now he should have paid up. 

“Mr. Bruner,” Kurt finally interrupts, sick of listening to the man’s petty excuses that made him sound like a twelve year old boy. The man in front quickly (finally) shuts up, and Kurt stares at him from behind his desk. 

“The terms were clearly outlined in the contract you signed with us. I have already given you the benefit of the doubt in that I know you are not trying to hold out on repaying us. However, I cannot let this continue any longer, or else other people will start believing they can get away with the same bullshit that you are trying to get away with now. I’m a reasonable man, Mr. Bruner, and I’ve already been more than generous with you. But I’m afraid that we will be implementing the terms of the agreement that you signed and taking the collateral you owe us. You can leave now,” Kurt dismisses the man, and when he doesn’t leave right away, still blubbering on and on about how unfair this all is and that Kurt just needs to give him a little more time, he threatens to call in one of his guards stationed at the door and that does the job. The man leaves, and Kurt finally lets himself sigh deeply and lean back fully into his chair. He can already feel the beginnings of a headache and it’s only noon. 

The phone rings, startling the blessed silence that Kurt finally sunk into, and with a heavy sigh Kurt hits the speaker button and says a greeting to his secretary. 

“Mr. Hummel, I have your father on the line for you. Are you busy or can I put him through?” Stacy asks, and Kurt smiles at the mention of his father. It’s been awhile since he’s talked to his dad. 

“Of course, put him through please,” Kurt tells her, and he only needs to wait a couple more seconds until his dad’s voice sounds through the machine. 

“Hey, kiddo. How’s everything going?” The sound of his father’s voice somehow always seems to relax Kurt, despite everything going on and how stressed he is about the upcoming meeting his father himself was flying out to help him handle. 

“It’s good, Dad. When are you landing tomorrow? I want to pick you up from the airport,” Kurt turns towards his calender on his desk, sure that he had written down the time his dad landed in New York. But it’s buried underneath a mountain of paperwork and his dad is already telling him the correct time anyways. 

He talks to his dad for a little longer, they never talk about business over the phone as a rule, but it’s not like they don’t have anything to talk about. Despite the looming business deal that is definitely the biggest Kurt’s handled yet, talking to his dad seems to take all the stress out of his day anyways. So when he hangs up with promises to pick his father up from the airport the next morning, the annoyance and exasperation left from his meeting with Mr. Bruner is long gone. 

He barely has a chance to relax after hanging up with his father however, before his secretary is buzzing on the intercom again. 

“Mr. Hummel, your one o’clock appointment is here. Shall I send him in?” She asks. With a heavy sigh, Kurt self consciously straightens his tie, (not that it needed to be straightened anyways of course) and reaches for the button to answer. 

“Of course, send him in,” Kurt states, and he leans back in his chair as he waits for his next appointment.

  
  



	2. Two

Blaine was seriously having a shitty week. Okay, if he was being real, it’s been more like a shitty month if he’s honest. To kick things off, the cooling to his entire floor of his apartment broke because the tenant in 3A doesn't understand why they can’t have the temperature set below 70 degrees, otherwise everything freezes up. Anyways, it’s still not working and his landlord is being cheap about it and hoping the problem will fix itself on it’s own. Well, it’s been two weeks and Blaine’s about ready to just call somebody in, but of course he can’ t because if he does, he will literally have no money left over for groceries. He’s a broke college graduate who’s working a starting teacher’s pay in the middle of Manhattan, he barely has enough money to pay rent, let alone deal with a broken A/C unit and pay for groceries on top of that. So, guess what’s gonna take precedence? Also, his boss is constantly watching him, which for a first year teacher is completely understandable but Blaine  _ knows  _ he’s just waiting for him to screw up and do something wrong and it’s stressful, okay? On top of that, he isn’t getting the best sleep in the world because it’s so difficult falling asleep when your apartment is almost 90 degrees and there are only so many clothes he can take off until he just has to suffer on his sheets and sweat like a pig. 

And then this week has been laying it on thick, because his coworkers who were supposed to be organizing the fifth grade field trip are both conveniently calling out sick (everybody knows they are sleeping together even though both are supposedly in committed relationships) and guess who’s been saddled with organizing the enter field trip on his own? That’s right, Blaine. And his boss is still breathing down his neck in a very threatening way and shouldn’t the fact that his students actually like him be a factor that works in his favor? But of course his boss thinks that the reason his students like him is because he’s letting them screw around in class and not because Blaine tries to be engaging and different from other teachers in the building. 

The bell rings right in the middle of his lecture and Blaine barely manages to make sure everybody understands the homework assignment before he watches the herd of sophomores leave his English class. He breathes out a sigh with one last look at the clock. He only has one more period until lunch, and then he knows he desperately needs to stop and grab some coffee to keep him awake for the next five hours of school. 

His freshman English one class starts filling into their seats, and Blaine pulls out  _ To Kill A Mockingbird, _ the book they were reading currently. It seemed that he was going to have to somehow rangle in the entire class of freshmen who definitely thought that lunch was more important than learning about prejudice in the world of Atticus Finch. His stress headache gets even worse throughout the forty minute class, so when the bell finally rings signalling the end of the period, Blaine is one of the ones packing his things just as fast as the freshmen of his class. If he hurries, he knows he can run down the block to the Starbucks and get some tea for his throat, which he can already tell is starting to scratch. 

He gets caught on his way out by Maggie, one of the biology teachers who he absolutely  _ loves  _ talking to on a normal day, but he’s seriously trying to get some caffeine in him and some hot tea down his throat so he feels bad about brushing her off, but he also knows he doesn’t have that long until he needs to be back for his sophomore honors english class. 

The line isn’t that long, thankfully, Blaine notices as he enters the coffee shop. He notices a couple students from his school, but the majority of people in the shop are business men and women on their lunch break like he is. He stands in line behind two teenagers that Blaine figures are probably students at his school, but he’s lucky in the fact that he can order relatively quickly. And for the first time this month, Bliane gets even luckier that something must have happened to the cups in the cue line because Blaine gets to grab his green tea almost immediately. 

But of course, his month has been shitty, so something has to happen to balance everything out. 

Just as Blaine turns around, he crashes into a very solid body, and his drink splatters on both of them. 

“Oh fuck,” the man cries out as the hot drink Blaine was carrying explodes on him. Blaine can only watch in dismay as the man looks down at his suit, which is now covered in green tea. 

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Blaine quickly apologizes to the man, turning and grabbing napkins to try and help the man salvage some of his suit, which looks way too expensive to be dripping with hot tea. He holds out the handful of napkins, and the man finally looks at him for the first time. Blaine tries not to stare, seeing as the guy probably is absolutely pissed at him, but it’s hard when the real life Adonis is staring down at you. He was a couple inches taller than Blaine, making Blaine look up into the man’s breathtaking blue eyes. He had soft looking chestnut brown hair, swept up out of his face and made him seem even taller. Blaine swallows past the lump in his throat as he continues looking up at the man. 

“Everything okay over here, Mr. Hummel?” Blaine manages to tear his gaze away from the man, who’s apparently important enough to be called Mr. Hummel, to see another large man who could definitely pummel the shit out of Blaine. He was wearing a simple black suit, which didn’t do anything to hide the muscles that could easily put Blaine into the hospital. 

“Everything’s fine, Ben. We just had a little collision. Could you send someone back to my apartment to grab a change of clothes for me please?” Mr. Hummel tells the large guy. With one last glance at Blaine, the guy nods and walks out the door, and Blaine turns back to the man in front of him. 

“I am so sorry,” Blaine repeats, and the man instead of ranting pissed off at Blaine, actually gives him a small smile. 

“It’s fine, I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going either, so it’s both of our faults,” the man, the guy who is important enough to be called Mr. Hummel  _ and  _ have an assistant available to go to his apartment to pick up a change of clothes, seems fine with the fact his expensive suit is ruined. Or, at least is hopefully salvageable with a thorough dry cleaning. 

“Besides, I’m not exactly fond of this suit anyways. The only reason I’m wearing it is because my father bought it for me and he’s coming into town today and I wanted to seem like I wear it even though it sits in the back of my closet,” the man chuckles, and Blaine himself manages to laugh along. 

“Still, I’m so sorry, I really should have paid more attention,” Blaine quickly states, but the man shrugs off his suit jacket to reveal a white button up that seems to cling to his arms (partly because the shirt is wet but also because his arms are ripped) and Blaine remembers not to drool. 

“Like I said, you’re fine. Nobody got hurt, and now I have an excuse to tell my dad why I’m not wearing his suit so I don’t have to lie about it being hideous,” the man smiles widely, and Blaine knows he’s staring but he really hopes this incredibly attractive man understands. Seriously, he really hopes Mr. Hummel understands why he can’t just flash that smile at boys like Blaine because he will swoon. 

“What is this? I mean, it smells amazing,” Mr. Hummel asks. 

“Um, green tea with honey. Pretty simple really,” Blaine shrugs, but then Mr. Hummel is turning towards the woman working the cash register and orders two green teas. 

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, sir, I promise,” Blaine quickly protests as he watches Mr. Hummel reach into his wallet and pull out his credit card. But he’s turning around and waving off Blaine’s protest before he can even try to pay for himself.

“Don’t worry about it,” the man continues to wave off Blaine’s protests even after he orders, Blaine insisting that he can pay him back. The people working behind the bar must have somehow felt bad about their collision because it’s not long after that they are handing both of them their drinks, which Mr. Hummel has to force into Blaine’s hand. Ok, not really, but Blaine still tries to get him to accept some cash. 

“Mr. Hummel, we really need to be going,” another man in a similar black suit walks up to the two of them, and Mr. Hummel nods, and then turns to look at Blaine. 

“It was nice meeting you. And again, thanks for the free excuse,” he smiles again at Blaine, and then the two of them quickly walk out and Blaine watches them get into a black car. The man in the black suit holds the door open for Mr. Hummel, and then the two of them are gone. 

  
  



	3. Three

Okay, getting hot tea spilled on him wasn’t exactly in Kurt’s plans for the afternoon, but hey, at least now he doesn’t have to lie about not liking the suit his dad gave him. He accepts the change of clothes from his assistant Mille, quickly unbuttoning his sodden undershirt. 

“Mille, will you please take these to the dry cleaners for me as well?” Kurt asks as he shrugs on the new suit jacket. Of course, she will because that’s her job, but Kurt never likes to just give people orders without sounding polite. If you treat your employees with respect, they will respect you, and respect is a big deal in Kurt’s line of work. Besides, Mille’s father is an important player in their international business, and he doesn’t want to offend him by disrespecting his daughter. He assumes the only reason Mille is even working for him is that it’s well known that he’s gay. It’s not like he can really hide it, he wears his effeminate side pretty openly and well, stereotypes exist. 

“How much longer until we get to the airport?” Kurt asks Gregory, his driver. 

“About 45 minutes, Mr. Hummel,” is the quick response, and Kurt turns to look outside as they slowly drive through the New York traffic. Once they start getting outside the city they’ll pick up speed, but for now, they are stuck in a sea of mainly yellow cabs. Kurt can’t stop thinking about the man he just met though, the one who was obviously exhausted. Most people probably would have been furious if they had been spilled on, but Kurt wasn’t most people. He’s not quick to anger like many of the men he knows, and maybe if it had been a suit he had cared about he would have been more upset, but Kurt knows the value of an even temper. So instead of being furious, Kurt was allowed to appreciate the man in front of him. 

He was tired, that much was obvious. But still respectful, he immediately felt apologetic instead of trying to defer the blame onto Kurt. It’s Kurt’s job to be observant, so he quickly saw the Manhattan High School folder in the man’s open satchel. So it’s easy to infer that he was a teacher or staff member there. Of course, he never ended up getting the man’s name, but that’s no issue for Kurt. Something-and he doesn’t know what-is making Kurt more and more curious about the random man by the minute. 

But he wasn’t able to keep thinking about the stranger because the airport is now in view. Kurt watches as Gregory takes them towards passenger pick up, and once they are stopped Kurt exits his car. He’s followed by Ben, his assistant/bodyguard, and the two of them walk into the airport to greet Burt Hummel. 

Their timing is impeccable, as it usually is because Gregory somehow always manages to get Kurt where he needs to go exactly on time. Burt steps onto the down escalator just moments after Kurt walks into the building, and Kurt grins, waving at his father who almost immediately spies Kurt. He quickly steps off the escalator and Kurt wastes no time in accepting a hug from his father, whom he hadn’t seen in person in more than a year. 

“How was your flight?” Kurt asks once the two of them separate. 

“It was okay, a little bumpy which makes David nervous,” Burt turns to flash a grin at the man in question, and Kurt laughs at the look David gives his dad. David’s been his dad’s best friend for years now, and he’s practically his uncle by now. David also has a secondary job that Kurt hadn’t known until he started immersing himself more in the other side of the family business, in that he’s his dad’s personal guard. 

“I don’t like flying, okay. It’s a very common fear that many people have,” David shrugs, and Kurt laughs along with his dad. But David knows too many embarrassing stories to let Kurt get away with laughing at him. 

“I’d shut that trap kid. Unless you want a reminder of your first flight when you were in high school,” David states, and that immediately shuts Kurt up as he feels his face flush with the memories of being just as terrified on the plane as David. He’s gotten it under control now, he’s not afraid of flying, but that first time he flew going on a trip with his high school glee club wasn’t much different than David was currently. 

“That’s what I thought,” David grins at Kurt while Burt’s laugh booms louder at the look on his son’s face. 

“Come on, kiddo. I’m tired and wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite to eat before the meeting later tonight,” Burt claps a hand on Kurt’s shoulder and the four of them walk back to the car that’s still parked in passenger pick up. Gregory, upon seeing the four of them, quickly gets out and opens the trunk of the car for Burt’s bags. Both Ben and David climb into the farthest back row, letting Kurt and Burt sit together. Kurt starts catching up with his dad about everything they haven’t had a chance to talk about recently. He’s not lying when he says he’s missed his dad, he wishes that he had more time to visit with him. 

They drive to Kurt’s apartment building, where they’ll be able to eat dinner before going to the office for a late-night meeting with the Riccis and the Petrovs, the two families whose merger was the business deal that’s been taking up most of Kurt’s time lately. Once they reach Kurt’s building, they quickly head up to the penthouse suite where with one smell of the air, he can tell that his cook Marta has been hard at work. 

Once his dad is settled in, Kurt disappears to his bedroom for a quick moment, grabbing his phone. He rings a family friend. 

“Sarah? Yes, it’s me. Remember that favor you owe me? Well, I’m cashing in. I need help digging up some information on somebody. It’s nobody dangerous, don’t worry.” 

  
  



	4. Four

“And don’t forget guys, chapter fifteen’s due Wednesday, and we’ll have a quiz Friday so if any of you need help studying, you know my off hours,” Blaine reminds his students quickly before the bell rings and they all pack up. He talks with a couple of his students who had questions and comments, and then he has an entire 90 minute period to sit in a quiet classroom and grade his work. But before that, he needs coffee. 

He barely makes three steps outside the school before he bumps into someone on the busy street. 

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Blaine quickly states, and then he looks up at the man who he bumped into and his heart skips a beat. He has got to stop bumping into this man, he’s going to think he’s stalking him or something. 

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Mr. Hummel grins, and of course Blaine remembers his name even after two weeks. It’s hard to forget a face like  _ that.  _

“I swear, I’m not normally this clumsy,” Blaine feels his heating up, and Mr. Hummel just laughs. 

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. My name is Kurt, by the way,” Mr. Hummel says- no, now Kurt (and Blaine needs to stop imagining saying that after kissing the man). Kurt holds out a hand, and Blaine doesn’t hesitate to reach out and shake it, a little surprised at how soft Kurt’s hand is on his own. 

“I’m Blaine, otherwise known as the clutz who just can’t stop bumping into random strangers in expensive suits,” Blaine replies, feeling like an idiot. But Kurt just grins, which causes Blaine’s heart to skip another beat. 

“At least you weren’t carrying any liquid. This suit sadly is one that I’d be a little more upset over getting spilled on,” Kurt reaches up and adjusts the tie around his neck, and that just causes Blaine to notice the fact of the suit even more, or well, how the suit fits  _ so nicely  _ on the man wearing it. 

“I guess it’s a good thing I bumped into you here then, as I was about to go grab some coffee before I teach my next class,” Blaine gestures down the street towards the Starbucks, and Kurt follows his gaze. 

“Would you mind some company? I was just on my way there too, actually,” Kurt smiles, and Blaine can’t help but feel the flush in his face at how handsome it makes Kurt look. Honestly, why this man is even talking to Blaine is a mystery. He’s someone important somewhere, maybe a businessman, so why he would be talking to Blaine is a mystery. However, Blaine’s not about to let an opportunity to keep talking to Kurt down.

“Yeah, no problem,” Blaine smiles, and the two of them start walking towards the coffee shop. 

“So I assume you’re a teacher at the high school?” Kurt asks, and Blaine nods, adjusting his book bag filled with papers he was supposed to be grading during this period. But the opportunity to talk to Kurt sounds much nicer than grading his sophomore’s papers. 

“Yeah, I’m an English teacher. What about you, what do you do?” Blaine asks. 

“I help my dad with the investments for his business. It’s a family business so I guess once he retires I’ll end up taking over,” Kurt states, and Blaine takes in the expensive suit Kurt’s wearing. He must be successful, Blaine wonders if he’s heard of Kurt’s business before. He tries to remember anything revolving around the name Hummel, but nothing comes up. 

“What kind of business is it?” Blaine asks just as they reach the doors of Starbucks. Kurt holds them open for him, and they wait until a group of teenagers exit until the two of them enter. 

“Car mechanics. We own several stores mainly in the Midwest. We’re based in Ohio, that’s where I’m from originally. But lately, Dad’s been trying to expand out east here,” Kurt answers, and Blaine looks at him a little shocked. Maybe he’s stereotyping a little, but Kurt doesn’t look at all the type to own car garages or work in them. He tries to imagine the expensive suit being replaced by the overalls like the ones who worked on his car when he was a kid, but it’s extremely difficult, impossible even. Luckily, Kurt notices his expression and laughs instead of being offended. 

“You’re trying to imagine me fixing cars, right?” Blaine blushes but nods in response, which just causes Kurt to laugh more. 

“Don’t worry, I get that expression all the time. I mainly handle the business side of things, but Dad does the day-to-day affairs,” it’s Blaine’s turn to step up to the counter, and he orders a medium drip coffee, his throat feeling fine after a couple of weeks and desperately needing more caffeine in him. 

“And for you, sir?” The cashier looks behind him, and he wasn’t even aware of Kurt following him as he orders a non-fat mocha. Before Blaine can pull his wallet out of his bookbag, Kurt’s reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a sleek black card. He hands it to the cashier without asking Blaine and ignoring Blaine’s protests of how he can pay for himself. But Kurt just flashes him a smile, and Blaine just watches as he accepts his card back with ease. 

“It’s no problem,” Kurt smiles, and Blaine feels his stomach tighten as he looks up at Kurt. There’s something about him that Blaine can’t quite place, something that’s drawing Blaine to him. Blaine is insanely curious about this man. 

“So what’s it like, being an English teacher I mean?” Kurt asks, tilting his head slightly. Blaine starts talking about his classes, discussing the different books that they’re reading. His freshmen are almost done reading  _ To Kill a Mockingbird,  _ while his sophomores are all starting  _ The Catcher in the Rye,  _ which is one of Blaine’s favorite books. Kurt just smiles as he listens to Blaine rant, and interjects with his own opinions every so often to make Blaine feel like he’s not dominating the conversation. But eventually, he looks down at his watch and realizes that he needs to start heading back so he’s not late for his next class. 

“Here, let me walk you back,” Kurt offers, and he grabs their empty cups, tossing them into the recycle bin as Blaine slings his book bag over his shoulder. He had been planning on grading his sophomore’s papers but got caught up talking to Kurt. Oh well, it will be worth staying up late tonight in order to talk to him. 

Kurt walks with him back down the street, and as he’s walking back up towards the door, Kurt calls out for him to wait. Blaine turns around, and Kurt pulls out a business card and offers it to him. 

“I’m sorry if this is presumptuous or anything, but I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner with me?” Kurt asks, a slight blush on his cheeks as he looks at Blaine hopefully. Blaine can’t stop the smile from spreading across his face when he accepts the card from Kurt. 

“I’d love that. I have to grade papers tonight, but I should be free tomorrow?” Blaine asks. Kurt nods quickly. 

“That sounds perfect. My number is on that card, text me your address so I can pick you up at 7?” Kurt points at the card and Blaine glances down at it long enough to see the name Kurt Hummel, but he looks back at Kurt before he can further examine the card. 

“That sounds perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kurt,” Blaine smiles, and for a moment, neither one of them move, but just as Blaine’s about to go in for a hug, Kurt’s phone rings and kills the mood between them. Kurt smiled apologetically, and Blaine settled for a wave as Kurt answered the phone and turned to walk away. 

Blaine hears the bell ring, signaling the end of the period, and he quickly hurries to his next class. And if he spends a little more time smiling, well, he knows why. 


End file.
